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Friday, December 18, 2015

Well, I must say the past two weeks have been sprinkled with challenges instead of glitter. Physical issues, emotional hurts, car issues, phone issues...(long drawn out sigh). BUT!! I refuse to allow these to dampen my Christmas merriment.

I was going to post some detailed DIYs for some of my creative outlet creations, BUT, do to tech support help with a hard reset on my phone, I lost all my "during" photos. Yep, even with being helped, step by step, my phone deleted all photos from 2015 and ALL of my text messages. See? I told you there have been issues.

So, instead, I'm going to do a quick post with photos. For some of the projects, I'll give simple instructions.

This is my little front porch all decked out for Christmas. I wanted to keep all of my decs sparkly, neutral and simple. Most of these were items that I already had. A simple tree, old sled with live greens and monogram arrangement are the large pieces for this vignette. The owl wreath and pail are the little highlights and the chevron rug anchors it all.

This is a close up of the pail. I had the galvanized bucket as well as mirrored ornaments and the matte silver ones. For the snowballs, I covered styrofoam balls (which I already had) with Snowtex paint (which I already had.) It makes for a little bit of chilly atmosphere, even though we haven't had a day below 50 degrees.

The arrangement on the sled was made from cuttings from our boxwood bushes, the Christmas tree and the white pines from the back yard. The "B" and the ribbon were from a previous year's decor. the jute ornament I made with an old ornament, some white glue and jute string. Remove the ornament top. Starting at the top, smear about 1/2 an inch of glue around the top toward the bottom of the ornament. Lay the jute on in a spiral down the sides of the ornament. Once dry, replace the top. Voila' a rustic chich "new" ornament.

The owl wreath was one of my favorite creations this year. I purchased the owl and the ribbon. Everything else was created from my stash - the greenery, the sparkling buds. The pine cones camer from the back yard. Every hard core crafter has a stash, right?

I made the rustic paper ornaments from styrofoam balls (from my stash) and old book pages. I cut the pages into squares that were approximately 2 inches in diameter. I didn't measure, just folded and cut. I then took the dull end of a skewer, placed it into the center of the square and loosely folded the square up around the skewer. Placing a dot of hot glue on the paper at the skewer end, I placed each square on the ornament. I know it sounds boring, like watching paint dry, but the fulness of the squares hides a lot of area. These really were quick and they look really Pottery Barn-esque. Once the glue was dry, I spritzed each ball with watered down brown craft paint.

For the dining table, I wanted to keep it a little rustic, but still sparkly and light. I did purchase some items for this arrangement. The chalkboard runner was a lucky find at a Tuesday Morning - one of my favorite home dec stores. You never know what you're going to find! I also purchased the clear dinner plates. I already had the silver chargers, the tray, the candle votives, the vase and ornaments.

For the chargers and plates, I found some cheap chalboard wrapping paper at our local Target. Since the plates were clear, I traced aroun the bottom center edge of the plate, cut the circle from the wrapping paper and simply placed the paper under the dinner plate.

Another project in the dining room is the buffet. The compote was left over from a previous display. The beaded runner was a new purchase. To craft the "JOY" centerpiece, I purchsed two dutout letters from Michaels, as well as the three inch grapevine wreath. To create the "JOY," I spraypainted the letters with a dull silver spraypaint. After this was dry, I sprayed again, this time with Krylon Lookinglass Paint. While this was still wet, I dabbed at it with a plastic bag. This gave the letters some texture as well as a zinc or galvanized look. I hot glued the wreath between the letters, and placed the bottle brush trees and deer in the middle of the "O". The snow is acutally nothing more than epsom salts. It sparkles like ice.

The mantel is up next. Wow! I've been busy. Thank goodness I've been working at it slowly. Again, I wanted it to be sparkly and light. LIghts, viler, and white. I'll let it speak for itself.

I have decided that the pine cones blend in with the stone a little too much. So, I put them in some diluted bleach last night. Have you ever seen bleached pine cones? Gorgeous!! We'll see what they look like later today. I can't wait. Maybe I'll put an updated pic in once they dry.

So, that's it! It looks like a lot, but Christmas and decorating are two of my favorite things! That sounds like a song,,,,

Anyway, thanks for following along and for understanding the technology fail and other challenges. I hope I inspired you to use what you have, with very few purchased new items. It's amazing what a little time, creativity, and ingenuity can do!

If you're struggling through this season with emotional, physical or financial struggles, I hope that you can focus on the little bits of good that WILL appear. Look for them. Be intentional about seeing them and recognizing them. They really are everywhere. Ask for them. He's more than willing to give good gifts.

Hoping that you have an enchanting, full-of-delight Christmas. May it be filled with comfort, peace, kindness and beauty.